


fresh as a daisy

by dryadfiona



Series: Requests [10]
Category: Prodigal Son (TV 2019)
Genre: Anger, F/F, Fluff and Angst, angry makeout, first chapter is angry makeout and angst second has some fluff. or Will
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-19
Updated: 2021-01-19
Packaged: 2021-03-15 00:09:10
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,468
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28804089
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dryadfiona/pseuds/dryadfiona
Summary: Ainsley pushes and Dani pushes and neither particularly likes being pushed.
Relationships: Dani Powell/Ainsley Whitly
Series: Requests [10]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2148891
Comments: 4
Kudos: 9





	fresh as a daisy

**Author's Note:**

  * For [RenLuthor](https://archiveofourown.org/users/RenLuthor/gifts).



> Requested by my friend RenLuthor!

Ainsley, strictly speaking, doesn't have an issue with Dani. If she's being honest with herself, she's not even having an issue with Detective Powell of the New York City Police Department.

Her issue is this:

She's killed someone, and she's getting away with it, and Dani is an inherently suspicious person.

It would be so much easier if Dani had done something wrong. She is _literally_ just doing her job, and Ainsley can't even blame her for being suspicious because her brother _is_ different. He's freaking out about this or he's not. And he's not? He's freaking out about the fact that he's not freaking out as much as he should.

The gist of it is Malcolm covered up a murder--her murder--and Dani's circling.

So Ainsley does what she does best--redirects. She's gotten this far in life not through luck but because every time someone tried to push her about herself or about her mother or about her father, she managed to make it seem like she was sharing while she was actually just gauging their interest, the reason for their interest, and the best way to distract them.

It's manipulative, sure, but it's her mother's brand, not her father's, so it's fine. Something Dani probably won't know how to defend herself against, too.

So when Dani comes to her place to ask her if Malcolm's doing something he _shouldn'_ _t,_ Ainsley does something Dani probably won't expect her to.

"You've noticed, too?" Ainsley asks, voice dripping with concern that's not entirely fake. She _is_ worried about him. "I don't think it's anything, like. Criminal, you know? I think it's just with..."

"Endicott," Dani says, cutting her off, and Ainsley nods, frowning. "You think he's worried?"

"He stabbed Gil," Ainsley says, and Dani twitches, a bit, like she'd flinch if she didn't have the self-control not to. "And threatened our mother. And me," she adds as an afterthought. "I mean, I'm--"

"If you're trying to sell me that Malcolm is just scared for you," Dani says, and Ainsley shakes her head, because that's absolutely what she's trying to do and she doesn't want Dani to _know_ that, "Then save it. I've seen Malcolm scared."

"Have you?" Ainsley says, resentful of the implication that Dani knows something about her brother that she doesn't. "Really scared? You know it's not that he's worried for _his_ life, right? He's never been like that." Dani frowns at her, and Ainsley takes a fierce satisfaction in gaining that ground, even if what she's saying is something she wishes to God wasn't true. "People don't normally get to my mom. They almost _never_ get to me. Did he ever tell you about my first 'super-fan'?"

"No," Dani says, voice a little quieter. It could be uncertainty, but Ainsley doesn't think so, so it's time to keep pushing. "He hasn't."

"Someone sent me a letter," Ainsley says, letting her voice sound as blank as she wants it to. "Saying they knew where I lived, and that they wanted to prove they were the one for me. Malcolm called it something technical, I don't know. The gist of it being that he thought I was in love with him, that I was sending him messages."

"Jesus," Dani says. Ainsley nods.

"And I had to move and I had to file a restraining order and all of that, but mostly, I had to keep an eye out for Malcolm, because for the entire time that was going down, Malcolm was completely--"

She exhales.

"Manic," Dani adds.

"No," Ainsley says. "Or not--I don't think so. I'm not a psychologist, but mania is like--joy, right? Like too much joy? Impulsivity? Malcolm was just off. It's like he was looking for something to keep him from thinking about it."

"If he's in danger, he can take focus from you," Dani says. "I noticed he does that."

"If he does that for you," Ainsley says. "Think about what he'll act like when I'm in danger, you know? Me and my mom?" 

Dani's _just_ taller than her, by an inch, if that, but Ainsley still feels like someone's looming over her when Dani looks her over. It's not aggressive, just--piercing, like Dani's managing to cut through the layers and layers of falsity to see her.

It's uncomfortable. The last time she felt like this, it was her father.

Or. Maybe it was Endi--

That's a dangerous train of thought, and Ainsley snaps, "So if you're trying to trick me into thinking that my brother's done something he shouldn't, you should leave. I trust my brother more than anyone."

Dani nods. "Okay."

"Okay?" Ainsley says, shoulders dropping a little in relief that she doesn't have to fake at all. "Good. I'm glad we can just focus on Malcolm. He needs it more than I do."

There's that look again, like Dani's seeing right through her, and Ainsley tenses. She's not sure why, or what she'll do if Dani does figure something out. "Ainsley?"

"Yeah?" 

"I care about your brother," Dani says.

"Gross," Ainsley interrupts.

"Not like that," Dani says quickly, tucking her hair behind one ear. Ainsley bites her tongue to keep herself from grinning at the obvious tell. "I just mean...I'm not trying to, I don't know, catch him red-handed or anything. I just want to find out what happened. If she's okay. "

And that takes the wind out of her sails.

"Oh," Ainsley says. "Yeah. Me too."

Dani nods, and this is the part where she should turn around and leave, but instead, she says, "So you don't think it's just worry, then?"

If this were a text conversation, Ainsley would take a minute to just yell at herself for being so goddamn stupid. She can't just be honest with people about _anything_ , not even when she's worried about her brother, she _knows_ that. But she doesn't have that luxury, so she says, "What? Of course I do."

"You know, you're a good liar," Dani says conversationally. "Really. If I hadn't spent so much time with your brother, I'd fall for it. Hook, line, and sinker."

"What are you talking about?" Ainsley asks, letting her annoyance bleed through. "I'm worried about my brother, what makes you think I'm _lying_?"

"Because you make it sound like Malcolm's going through something he hasn't before," Dani says, and Ainsley's not sure if she actually takes a step closer but she seems like she's right in Ainsley's space now. "And I have seen your brother worried about you and your mother before, during the Carousel Killer case. This isn't that. He's been--on-edge, he's been angry, he's been reckless, but this? This is something different."

"You've known him for what, a year?" Ainsley says, venom in her voice that she can't seem to hold back. "You think you know him better than _I_ do?" And that's genuinely infuriating, even if she's trying to redirect, always keeping the topic of conversation away from herself. Anything _real_ about herself, at least. "Really?"

Dani's calculating expression shifts to more of a glare, and something in Ainsley thrills at that, all of a sudden. "I didn't say _better_. I said I know him."

"No," Ainsley says, taking a step closer. Dani doesn't back away. "You don't. You've seen Malcolm working while our father has his hooks in him. You don't know anything about my brother, so stop pretending you're looking for anything other than your next case."

"That's more your brother's thing than mine," Dani says, more a hiss than anything else, and there's that thrill up her spine again. "What's _wrong_ with you, I just want to help!"

And Ainsley is sure she's telling the truth, or at least a version of it, and that's awful, so Ainsley says, "Then leave my family alone."

Dani reaches up, then, to grab her or to push her or something, and Ainsley reacts on instinct, shoving the other woman away from her. She wishes she had a weapon. Or she wishes that she didn't wish that. She's not sure yet. Dani only staggers a couple steps back, and she raises her hand in a conciliatory gesture.

"I didn't mean to scare you," Dani says.

"You didn't," Ainsley lies.

Dani lowers her hands. "But I don't trust you."

"I don't care," Ainsley says. "I haven't done anything wrong."

She's not even lying. Endicott needed to go. If she feels guilty about whatever Malcolm's going through, that's one thing, but the actual act itself might as well have been self-defense. 

Dani rolls her eyes, though. "Save it. You and Malcolm did something, or you did and Malcolm's covering for you."

"My brother _stops_ bad guys, he doesn't help them," Ainsley says. "Did you forget he turned in our dad?"

"No."

Ainsley stalks a step closer, then another, until she's right up in Dani's face, and says, "Get the hell out of my apartment."

"If you don't have anything to hide, then why aren't you being honest?" Dani says.

Ainsley smiles her best, falsest smile and says, "If you make me ask twice, I'll get you fired."

Dani frowns like she wasn't expecting that, which is ridiculous. Ainsley's her mother's daughter, always has been. "Seriously?"

"Seriously," Ainsley says calmly, though she's honestly not sure she has enough influence in the department with Gil in the hospital. "I'm not keeping anything from you, so can you please fuck off? The security detail outside might actually have a use for you."

Dani glares, and Ainsley keeps grinning, and when Dani turns to leave, Ainsley wishes she was more excited about it.

"I'll be back," Dani says, one hand on the door handle. 

"Don't," Ainsley says, all anger again. "Don't _fucking_ do that."

"What, come back?"

"No, talk like you just have to keep trying and I'll reveal I've been the bad guy the whole time," Ainsley says. "Fuck you. You don't know anything about me."

Dani turns, and Ainsley takes a step closer to throw her out or--something. "That's why I'm asking."

"And I'm asking you to leave me the hell alone," Ainsley says, but somehow her arms are on either side of Dani's head, which presumably would make it a little difficult for her to leave.

Dani looks at her with some sort of surprise on her face, and Ainsley tries to figure it out, staring at her face to see if there's hostility or superiority or anything else that might put Ainsley or Malcolm in danger in her face. But there's just wide eyes, glancing from Ainsley to away to back again.

Oh, wait, that's--hm. That's the look Jin had before they actually spent a night together when Ainsley had him in a corner. That's _interesting_.

Ainsley steps back and drops her hands, because if she's reading this right, she doesn't actually want her pinned against the door. "What do you want, Dani?"

"Uh," Dani says. "Well, I want answers."

"Is that what you were thinking of just now?" Ainsley asks sweetly, because she's an asshole, and it's one hell of a way to redirect attention away from her.

Dani exhales, and says, "No."

Ainsley could act flustered, or act smooth, or act like this isn't anything unusual for her, but she isn't all that bashful and she isn't exactly a player and this isn't something she's ever, ever done before, and she wants to enjoy it, and she's _really_ enjoying this--not quite fight they have going on, so she grins a smile that always made her mother look away and mutter something about her father, sits down on her couch, and says, "Then do something about it."

Dani swears under her breath and takes a few long steps closer until she can pull Ainsley in, and Ainsley can't help but melt into it, because this is _so_ much better than anytime she did this with Jin or anyone. Dani kisses surprisingly sweetly for someone who's so clearly pissed at her, if the grip she has on Ainsley's face is any indication.

Ainsley gets one leg between Dani's and pushes out, knocking Dani on top of her. Dani pulls away with a little huff of annoyance, but Ainsley kisses her to shut her up before she can say anything that'll ruin this. Dani's so warm and Ainsley's apartment is always freezing, and Ainsley can't help but drag Dani closer to enjoy the feeling of her as close as possible.

Dani shivers in surprise, but relaxes a little. There's still some heat to this, Dani's teeth pulling at Ainsley's bottom lip, Ainsley's nails scratching along the top of Dani's spine, but it feels less like urgency and more like something to luxuriate in. So Ainsley does, arching her back a little to press against Dani everywhere she can, and Dani pulls away to pull in a breath. When she does, Ainsley gently brushes her fingers where Dani's top rides up a little.

Dani doesn't full-body jolt or anything, but when she kisses Ainsley again, it's a little deeper, a little harder. Ainsley takes her time with it, exploring Dani's mouth, tongue running along Dani's teeth, the roof of her mouth, sucking on her tongue. That's enough for Dani to pull back and groan, low and _right_ against Ainsley's ear, and Ainsley had just meant to kiss her but--fuck, that's an offer if Ainsley's ever heard one.

So Ainsley pushes up, rolling them until Dani's pressed into the couch cushions and Ainsley's straddling her lap, Dani's hands coming up to hold Ainsley by her hips. Ainsley makes a pleased sound into Dani's mouth, and Dani grips a little bit harder. Ainsley's not sure if it's in appreciation or annoyance, but she'll take it either way. 

They kiss awhile longer, until Ainsley's legs hurt from propping herself up and there's an ache between her legs that she's not sure she's going to take care of, so she pulls back, pulling in a breath, and rests her head against Dani's. When she opens her eyes, Dani's already looking back at her, and Ainsley shivers, the eye contact almost more intimate than anything else they've done.

"So," Dani says.

"So," Ainsley says. "This is probably not what you expected when you came over."

"No," Dani agrees with a little laugh that Ainsley would be pissed about if it wasn't obviously self-deprecating. "It definitely wasn't."

Ainsley pulls back a little, the eye contact just this side of overwhelming, and says, "Were you, um." This feels more difficult than any other time she's done this with someone, but then again, she's certainly never made out with a woman who came to her house to question her about a murder she's committed without realizing the murder had taken place, so. "How far were you thinking this might, uh...go?"

It's not anywhere near the level of charismatic she likes to be, and she winces at it before she's even done talking. When she glances back at Dani, the other woman has her eyes wide, like she hadn't even considered that, and Ainsley puts her hands on Dani's shoulders to push herself up and away.

"It's fine," Ainsley mutters. "Seriously. No pressure, or whatever."

"Oh," Dani says. "I, uh."

Dani stares at her, and Ainsley's lipstick is smeared on her face, so Ainsley clears her throat and looks anywhere else. Ainsley's her father's daughter, after all, and Dani deserves better. Hell, might even deserve Malcolm, someone who cares with all their fucking being, not her. 

"Get out," Ainsley says, and this time, Dani listens. 

Ainsley spends the rest of the day decidedly not-moping. Moping is unproductive, and stupid, and she didn't care that much, anyway, so she throws herself into work. An article on Dr. Whitly's move to a public facility, an article on some professor's very public divorce with his wife, something about a corrupt CEO (and hasn't she had enough of those, recently?).

The articles aren't nearly as good as they could be, as they _should_ be, but in her defense, she's got a lot on her mind, what with the murder and the interrogation and the makeout with a woman. She should be freaking out about that, she thinks, because she did not _know_ she was interested in women until Dani looked at her and she felt more energized than any time with Jin or any other ex-boyfriend, but...

Well, she just doesn't have the room for anything else to worry about.

Malcolm doesn't respond when she texts him, letting him know that Dani came over with a little ":)" to indicate it was something murder-related (Malcolm's idea, or maybe Dad's). Her mom doesn't answer when she asks to go for dinner or something. Ainsley worries about that, a little, but her mom probably just fell asleep curled into some hospital chair at Gil's bedside. It's what she's done the past few nights, anyway. The one time Ainsley went to see her, her mom said she'd go home as soon as he woke up, and Malcolm had ducked his gaze, refusing to say the all-too-awful reality that he might not. 

So she works on her articles until the sun goes down, not bothering to get up and turn on the light. She gets told that her articles "could do with a little more polish! <3 love ya" from Leslie, who she hasn't talked to about anything other than work in months. She finishes the last thing she can get done without actually getting up and leaving the relative stability of her couch.

And then it's the hardest part of post-getting away with murder: not thinking about it.

Ainsley tries to watch TV, but she'd been bored with every show on Hulu before her life went to shit. She tries to read one of her books, but too many of them are about her father or murder or crime in general to actually be a distraction. She plays some stupid game on her phone, and that works, but she feels like an animal in a cage after too long playing it. Pacing around and around and waiting for something to do.

Hm, maybe an article on poor zoo care. A follow up on that Tiger King thing might actually get approved.

Something almost like excitement drives her to get back to her computer to start researching when someone knocks. She frowns; the clock on her computer reads 9:16pm. A little late for a social call, and she didn't order food. Maybe Malcolm got her something from that Thai place? He does that when she freaks out a little too much. 

She isn't that surprised when she sees Dani on the other side.

"Hey," she says awkwardly.

"Hey," Dani says. "Uh, I thought you were asleep. 'Cause of the lights."

"I fell asleep on the couch," Ainsley says with a little shake of her head, like she's trying to wake herself up.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you up, we can talk another time," Dani says, turning to leave.

"No, wait--" Ainsley says, even though by all rights she should want her gone. "Um."

Dani looks tired, like she's the one who's got some big sin weighing on her. Hell, maybe she does. Ainsley doesn't really know anything about her. "We should...probably talk about it, right?"

"Malcolm?" Ainsley says, though the way the corner of Dani's mouth quirks up makes it clear she picks up on the sarcasm. "I...yeah, we probably should."

Belatedly, Ainsley turns to the side so that Dani can walk in. Dani turns on the light as she goes, and Ainsley blinks against the sudden brightness. "So."

"So," Ainsley says. "Uh. I didn't--I wasn't expecting that, either."

"Yeah," Dani says. "Look, I don't--I don't know what I'm looking for with this either. I don't know if this--" She gestures between herself and Ainsley vaguely. "--is something you're even interested in. I don't know if I trust you."

That stings.

"But I think I'd like to try?" The end of it is higher, like a question, like Dani's not sure either. It's so different from every other early relationship Ainsley's ever had, where she allowed herself to be pursued for the thrill of it without ever pushing for it herself.

"Sure," Ainsley says.

"Can you just--" Dani sighs. "I have to ask. Can you just tell me something honestly first?"

"Of course," Ainsley says.

"Endicott," Dani says, and Ainsley knew it was coming but she has to force herself not to tense up anyway. "Do you think Malcolm had something to do with him disappearing?"

Ainsley sighs, pretends to think. "No. I don't think my brother could ever do anything like that to anyone."

Dani relaxes, even as Ainsley can see she doesn't really believe her. Shame. She's actually telling the truth for once.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> title was a placeholder title until i could see them interact in s2 but i'm impatient so! y'all get this! trying to figure out post-murder dynamics: the fic


End file.
